Fantasy car from the past.

[Farmer John]

Down town today, and there must have been an old car rally passing through. Mainly Morris Oxfords and such, one MG TF very tightly hooded and side-screened up to keep out the really pleasant sunshine. I thought, not for me. But we all start somewhere and I know when I first got an inkling that I liked old cars, I was convinced I would only have to save up to buy a Deusenburg SJ, then buy one. It wouldn't be a first choice now, but what was or is your dream?

I think I might go for a Jaguar XK120, a bit of a brute, but given the money to own and run, I think it would still be very good fun. Given a little bit of a golden glow from the memory, what would you have.

I am NOT offering to buy one all round for you.

[Chadburn]

What you needed was this one John, a lovely D Type which was road legal (you will remember that cars were driven to the racing and driven home again if not badly damaged) at one time driven by Jim Clark with the Border Reivers team and then owned by a friend of mine Alan Ensoll who drove it to his Garage Business nearly every day mainly in the Summer. He also raced the car at weekends, unfortunately it was sold due to the Torrey Canyon disaster as he was a name at Lloyds and suffered losses, he was one of the syndicate.
The car still exists and I believe is now worth around £8million due to its provenance, at the time I believe Alan paid less than a £1,000 for it.

[Farmer John]

I think you coulld be right,Chadburn. It would be a formidable drive, and very beautiful. What is going to grace your garage?

[Chadburn]

Aston Martin DB 5 remains my choice having driven one many years ago over the Moors to Whitby on a Summers day for the Powerboat Racing, never to be forgotten.
My Sons neighbour had a well looked after DB7 for sale six months ago, unfortunately it was a manual, these days I need an automatic due to problems with my left knee otherwise it would most probably be in my Garage by now, the money has now gone on property.
On the same day I drove the A.M. Roger Clark was there with his South African built Ford Capri V8, never seen one before that's why I took the photograph, he was Racing a Powerboat for Vita Power.

[Farmer John]

That is a lovely road to drive over, great dips and panoramic views. I could drive a DB5 over there, and enjoy it.

[Chadburn]

Originally Posted by Farmer John

That is a lovely road to drive over, great dips and panoramic views. I could drive a DB5 over there, and enjoy it.

The DB5 was not mine I should have added, it belonged to a Boat Builder for whom I did some work for between deep sea trips, he was taking one of his new builds to show at Whitby to pick up new business from the Powerboat crowd and I drove his car over instead of going with the boat which I would have normally done, he wanted to be able to get back home quickly as his wife had one on her own slipway ready for launching. Child that is!!
Just couldn't pass on the opportunity.

[Varley]

You need to go further back to grab any interest from me on this thread. I would have learned to drive if Pa had kept the Locomobile steamer.

[Chadburn]

Did your Pa use Welsh Anthracite?

[Farmer John]

Varley, I confess I would quite like a Stanley Steamer, they could get up steam quite quickly, I think. I do remember that the Sentinel steam lorries were quite a regular sight when I was young.

For some quirky things to drive, what about a Burney Streamliner?

[Farmer John]

Damn, I just Googled Stanley Steamer and there is one for sale! I could afford it too, if we sold the house and the car and my wife would walk the night for a few years.

http://www.steamcar.net/forsale.html

[Chadburn]

Originally Posted by Farmer John

Varley, I confess I would quite like a Stanley Steamer, they could get up steam quite quickly, I think. I do remember that the Sentinel steam lorries were quite a regular sight when I was young.

For some quirky things to drive, what about a Burney Streamliner?

Is there a steam bus still working at Whitby?

[Chadburn]

Originally Posted by Farmer John

Damn, I just Googled Stanley Steamer and there is one for sale! I could afford it too, if we sold the house and the car and my wife would walk the night for a few years.

http://www.steamcar.net/forsale.html

The steam engine for sale looks like half a Dewrance G.S. Pump.

[Farmer John]

Originally Posted by Chadburn

Is there a steam bus still working at Whitby?

There is indeed, hope the boiler cert is up to date.

[Dartskipper]

Originally Posted by Farmer John

Down town today, and there must have been an old car rally passing through. Mainly Morris Oxfords and such, one MG TF very tightly hooded and side-screened up to keep out the really pleasant sunshine. I thought, not for me. But we all start somewhere and I know when I first got an inkling that I liked old cars, I was convinced I would only have to save up to buy a Deusenburg SJ, then buy one. It wouldn't be a first choice now, but what was or is your dream?

I think I might go for a Jaguar XK120, a bit of a brute, but given the money to own and run, I think it would still be very good fun. Given a little bit of a golden glow from the memory, what would you have.

I am NOT offering to buy one all round for you.

I always favoured the XK150. I saw one at a show at Althorp (The Spencer family home with the shrine to Princess Di.) a few years ago. It looked very well used, not restored in any way at all. The paint was dull, the chrome in good nick but unpolished, the leather seats slightly faded and cracked. I got talking to the owners, a lovely couple who owned a farm in Gloucestershire. They told me they had taken it overseas with them and toured all sorts of countries. They had owned it from new, and it had a very high mileage, although I can't remember how many. I always wanted a Jaguar MKII 3.4 myself, but never could afford one now. They used to be dirt cheap, but still fetch prices over £20,000 for a runner that needs a fair amount of work. A near sister, the Daimler V8 250 is more affordable, with a completely different engine note. They do have a higher level of trim though, and prices are around £20,000 for one in very good condition. A runner needing some work would be about half that.
I owned a few American cars in my time overseas, and my favourite (i.e. the one I had most fun in!) was a 1969 Pontiac GTO convertible. 400 cubic inches of V8 muscle. Fantastic on straight roads, hated corners.

[Farmer John]

If I had to go for a car that is just fun, get a Citroen 2CV, peel the top back and get it up to as fast as you dare and go down a wiggly road. Pure daftness.

The XK150 is a very pretty car and I would happily have any of the XKs, they weren't bad to work one, just never drop the cylinder head askew on the studs like I saw happen once, you have a lot of work ahead of you after that.

[Chadburn]

D type Engineering

[billyboy]

Always fancied an SS Jag. Classic shape and with the two headlamps like searchlight.

[Farmer John]

Yes the SS (Swallow Sidecar, made in Blackpool, I think) had to be dropped after the war due to unpleasant associations. Again, a very pretty car. William Lyons, the owner and maker initially, had a real flair for design. I think the Engines were Standard (marque), but I couldn't swear to it.

We are getting quite a cluster of Jaguar cars, but I notice no-one has piped up with a hitherto unknown desire to go for a 2CV.

Incidentally, after looking at the underbonnet of the D type, I'm sticking with the XK120.

[Varley]

Originally Posted by Chadburn

Did your Pa use Welsh Anthracite?

Unleaded petrol despite the burner being marked 'heavy oil'. More gallons per mile than vice versa.

[Varley]

Originally Posted by Farmer John

Damn, I just Googled Stanley Steamer and there is one for sale! I could afford it too, if we sold the house and the car and my wife would walk the night for a few years.

http://www.steamcar.net/forsale.html

An expensive hobby obviously. I am sure that Pa didn't get anything like that for it

[Chadburn]

Originally Posted by Varley

An expensive hobby obviously. I am sure that Pa didn't get anything like that for it

That's life Varley, I sold a Mk 1 Ford Escort ex AVO for less than 1k they now go for well over 20k.
In regards to the D Type, another previous owner loved the car that much and because he could not afford the original he has had an exact replica built to race.
John, what is at odds for you in regards to D Type engine?

[Farmer John]

Nothing is at odds, there is just a lot more pipes, wires and tanks under there than there is under an ordinary old car bonnet. Lift the bonnet on mine nowadays, there is a large black plastic lump, with a battery. I wouldn't know where to start. Gone are the days when I knocked next door to see if he was coming down the pub, he said he would be down later, he had to change the engine in his old Ford van. We did use the farm workshop, but even so.

[Chadburn]

As someone who was always tinkering I understand your comments in regards to today's engines, not for me either, I just drive up the A19 to Ron Perrys he plugs into a super computer and puts it on the rolling road and then off we go.
2CV, not for me, in fact I have never owned a French car neither have I had a diesel car. My Daughter in Law has had two new Peugeots both had electrical problems.

[Dartskipper]

I had a Renault 12 estate. Carburettor trouble a few times, and eventually the rear suspension parted company with the rest of the car due to galloping tin worm.

Two Peugeot 406 company cars, one petrol, the other diesel (because of Government tax policy heavily favouring diesel cars in the early 2000's.) Both nice to drive and practical for my job having a large boot (trunk) for samples.

One Renault Laguna. Enough said, the memories are too painful. (I think it's significant that this model of Laguna was the last Renault saloon sold in the UK.)After complaining every month about it I was allocated an Alfa Romeo 156. Gorgeous car, great to drive, but a niggling problem with a fault in the brake light and rear light cluster. One bulb would stop working, so after fiddling with it all would be well again for a few miles, and then it would go out again. There were no loose connections, and the bulb was held firmly in its socket. I spoke to a friend who had spent many years as a mechanic at an Alfa dealership, and he said they are all like that, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's Italian electrics!

My last few cars have all been Opels rebadged as Vauxhalls. One Vectra and two Insignias. They have all been OK, only very minor problems that were insignificant in cars that do 25,000 miles a year.

Years ago I had a Rover 400 (rebadged Honda Civic re-engineered at Longbridge) that was actually a nice car to drive, but it had a huge appetite for front discs and tyres. It chewed through five sets of front tyres and two sets of discs in 85,000 miles. The Rover K engine had the well reported cylinder head gasket trouble, and an air conditioning hose chafed through, leaking all the refrigerant. It also devoured brake lights and side light bulbs, as well as head lights. I had the alternator checked for charge rate, but it was well within limits. When the car was delivered new, the battery leads were loose on the posts, and I had electrical trouble on the motorway for about 25 miles until I could pull into the services to find the problem. Also, one rainy night on the A1 Northbound, the driver's window opened all by itself. Rain had got past the seal and triggered the switch in the door. The car was only a few weeks old.

That's why I enjoy my Series III Jaguar Sovereign 4.2 (XK 6 cylinder lump under the bonnet.). It's reliable. (Apart from the air conditioning which always was a bit hit and miss.)

Roy.

[Farmer John]

Dad had Renault 16s for quite a few years, they are a car that has just gone, never seen, Then a Peugeot 305 Diesel Estate, passed on to me, it just felt like an express train, not very fast but get it to the speed you wanted, it just stayed there. Went to France with a mate and we shared the driving, he was always nudging it a bit, it was always 10°C hotter when I got back to driving it. He wasn't faster, just pushed it.

Not really a fantasy car. What about a Citroen DS19? That was a stylistic trendsetter, look at the Rover P6 (OK I found that out from your post elswhere, Chadburn).